Busted by Chewing Gum

Gary Raub captured by police, with a little help from Wrigley (courtesy of ABC News)

On June 12, 1976, the body of 70-year-old Blanche Kimball was discovered by police in her Augusta, Maine home. She had been stabbed more than twenty times and for more than three decades, her killer was never found.

That all changed on Monday evening when a 63-year-old homeless man named Gary Raub was arrested in Seattle by authorities.

Last July, detectives obtained Raub’s DNA in a most unconventional way: they asked him to participate in a chewing gum survey and later analyzed his saliva. Sure enough, his DNA matched that taken from blood found in Kimball’s kitchen. Now Raub, once known as Gary Wilson, faces murder charges that could result in as many as 25 years in prison. That’s essentially a life sentence for someone his age.

Raub’s arrest also ends one of Maine‘s longest unsolved murders. It just goes to show that even criminals from back in the day are not safe from prosecution thanks to modern-day technology and a little ingenuity.